After the last wrestling match, the bronze medal match, of his career at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece, Rulon Gardner laid down his wrestling shoes in the center of the mat as a ceremonial farewell to his sport. Gardner said, “Leaving them on the canvas meant that I laid everything on the canvas as a fighter.” In wrestling, it’s traditional to do this after your last match, as it pays homage to the wrestling gods.

Although this same tradition does not hold true in baseball, there is much to be learned from it. There are plenty of clichés and rants leading up to the game, and even during the game, that probably don’t resonate with gamers of all ages. But this one does. “Leave it all there.” Every time you go out on the field to play a game or practice, do it like it’s the last time you’re going to do it! Because, not to sound scary or macabre, it can be! We tell our kids this before every game, every tournament, and every game. We also emphasize that we play how we practice and practice how we play. In other words, go out with a purpose, whether it’s a game or a practice, have fun, because that’s what it’s all about, but have fun playing hard. We stress that if each and every one of them can look in the mirror and believe that he did everything possible to help the team win, then he was successful, no matter the outcome.

Too often today we read or hear stories about cheating and other scandals that remind us that baseball, as a game, isn’t just about having fun…at least for some people. The pressure to be the best and succeed at all costs too often trumps the game’s intent to be fun. From major leaguers and steroid use, to minor leaguers using other PEDs, high school baseball players using shaved or illegal bats, minor leaguers with coaches lying about the age of the kids. or they use illegal players, too much emphasis is placed on winning at all costs. But that’s not how it’s supposed to be, nor is it the case for most players and coaches. These are the ones who do everything right, play hard, give it their all, go that extra mile, and win or lose, walk away with the satisfaction of knowing they did their best.

There is great beauty and joy in seeing a sport played to its fullest and seeing an athlete give it their all on every play. I recently watched Carlos Carrasco of the Cleveland Indians come within one out – actually a strike – of a very rare no-hitter. When Joey Butler singled over second baseman Jason Kipnis with 2 outs and 2 strikes in the ninth inning, Carrasco just laughed. Maybe it was just a “you’ve got to be kidding” laugh, but he also knew that the somewhat vertically challenged Kipnis gave it his all to make a jump catch, and Carrasco clearly appreciated the effort. In his own words, he “really tried to get that ball,” Carrasco said. “I really appreciate that.” For his part, if Kipnis had been a foot taller, he might have had a chance, but that’s out of his control, and Carrasco knew that in that moment, his second baseman did everything possible to preserve the no-hitter. He left it all there. Unfortunately, he came up a bit short, but he didn’t lack for effort.

It’s great to see this kind of effort in youth baseball, too. Again, in practice, coaches emphasize and players perform throwing, hitting, and fielding drills to learn, polish, or improve their skills and fundamentals. But it’s the little things… the extra effort that leads to wins and championships. And we play as we practice. Do the right things starting with practice. Go hard after the ground balls. Line up for the cuts. Launch to a target or location. The organization I coach for, and the 14- and 15-year-olds in it, recently won the Father’s Day Classic, and we did it by beating a team that was better than us, or at least ranked higher than us, in the semifinals. -final game. This was a team that beat us in group play on Saturday, so playing them on Sunday could have resulted in disappointment or a lack of confidence. But our guys came out raving, and not only did they make all the routine plays, they made all the tough ones, and mostly through incredible effort. They made several diving plays, several running plays, took extra bases with sheer haste and determination, blocked difficult balls behind home plate to prevent runners from advancing, and did everything humanly possible to stay close, stay in the game, and allow themselves to win in extra entries. It was the pure definition of leaving it all out there, and the look on their faces after that win, and even more so after winning the championship game against another very good team, was further proof that this group of guys gave it all up. there. In essence, everyone unlaced their shoes and left them, 12 pairs, right in the middle of the mound.